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Wednesday, July 15, 2009

So, here I sit with 12 egg whites after making buttermilk ice cream - it presents a dilemma! After a little "googling", I discovered an article on gourmetsleuth.comthat has tips for using egg whites. It's pretty interesting - everything from angel food cakes to pear souffle. Egg whites can easily be frozen, either individually in ice cube trays, or in mass in a freezer bag. Just defrost in the refrigerator, and you are ready to go.One interesting fact that I did not know was that if you want the best volume for whipped eggs, you should use small eggs. Smaller eggs have less water content and the white is more concentrated. Also, when whipping egg whites, make sure everything is spotlessly clean and the egg whites are at room temperature.I finally opted for an angel food cake from pccusine.com. The original recipe was for an angel food cake with strawberries, but I decided on a plain angel food cake. It wasn't nearly as difficult as I imagined it would be. Just make sure when you are folding in the egg whites, you do it quickly and with as few strokes as possible. The more you "fold", the flatter (and denser) the angel food cake will be. You do need an angel food cake pan(a tube pan with a removal bottom). I prefer Chicago Metallic pans for baking - this one works perfectly and released the angel food cake without any problems. When cutting your angel food cake, use a serrated knife to keep the cake from flattening.

Angel Food Cake

(from pccusine.com - thanks!!)

1 c minus 2 T all purpose flour

1 1/2 c confectioner's sugar

12 egg whites (1 1/2 c), room temperature

1/4 t salt

1 1/2 t cream of tartar

1 c granulated sugar

1 1/2 t vanilla

1/2 t almond extract

Sift together the flour and confectioner's sugar and set aside.

Whip the egg whites, salt and cream of tartar together until foamy. Add the granulated sugar 2 tablespoons at a time. Continue whipping the egg white mixture until stiff peeks form and it gets glossy. Fold in the vanilla and almond extracts.

Sprinkle 1/4 c at a time of the sifted dry ingredients into the egg white mixture. Fold in just until it disappears. A large, shallow bowl works well for folding the dry ingredients in. Turn the batter out into an ungreased angel food cake pan. Bake at 375 degrees for 30-35 minutes - until the top springs back to the touch. If your angel food cake pan doesn't have cooling feet, invert the tube pan onto the neck of a bottle to let cool. Cool completely in the pan before removing and serving.